by Amy Brent
I grinned. “I bet he has. Spill.”
I could hear Jake and Gabe out on the porch. Holly kept her mouth shut, and when the screen door opened, and Gabe walked inside he glanced at her with an expression that screamed lust. My mouth fell open as I looked to Holly. She was blushing furiously. Gabe grabbed a couple of cold beers out of the fridge and headed back outside.
“What the hell was that about?” I shrieked. “Did you guys…?” I asked, not saying the word.
She smiled. “Yes. A lot, actually.”
“Oh my God! Moving a little fast, don’t you think? You never have sex with a man you barely know,” I said in astonishment.
Her cheeks turned a dark shade of red. “I couldn’t help it.”
“I’m not shaming you, but it is so unlike you.”
She took a deep breath. “Then what I tell you next is really going to shock you.”
I stared at her, waiting for her to tell me she was pregnant. “We’re getting married. Tomorrow!”
I couldn’t respond. I stared at her, blinking. My mouth opened and closed but no words came out. “What?”
“We want to get married. Tomorrow. We waited until you got back. Gabe is a very traditional man. He wants me to stay here with him, but he says he refuses to live in sin.”
I burst into laughter. “But you’ve had sex?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. He’s funny like that.”
“Well, I’m happy for you. I knew right away there was something between you guys.”
“No, you didn’t. I didn’t,” she argued.
I shook my head. “Oh yes, I did. I’ve been plotting all this time on how I was going to get you two together.”
“I didn’t think he was my type. He is a bit older than I am, but I don’t know, I can’t explain it. He just makes me feel so, so,” she waved her hand in the air, “what’s the word I am looking for?”
I smiled. I knew exactly what word she was looking for. “Whole? Complete? Happy?”
“Yes! All of that! Like my heart just knew he was the one. Is that how it was for you and Jake?”
I chuckled. “Well, I don’t know if it was my heart that knew early on, but it eventually caught up to the other parts of me.”
“I don’t need the details. I read about them, and soon enough, I expect millions of other readers will get all the dirty details,” she teased.
I shook my head. “No, the book is fiction, based on real events, but you have to know I would never so blatantly talk about my personal life in my work.”
“I know, I know. So, wedding, tomorrow, you’re going to be there?”
“Duh, of course I am.”
She leaned back and smiled.
“Oh, by the way, Jake and I got married before we went on what we now refer to as our honeymoon,” I blurted out.
“You did what?” she shrieked.
“We’re still willing to have the reception, but I wasn’t excited about a big wedding. Neither was he,” I explained gently.
She giggled. “I know what you mean. I’m sorry I was pushing it on you. I don’t want that either, which is why we are going to get married right here tomorrow with just you guys and one of Gabe’s old Army guys performing the ceremony.”
“Wow. I’m so happy for you. So, tell me about the ankle. Jake said you tripped and fell? He said Gabe felt guilty because he got you drunk?”
I hadn’t believed the story, but figured as long as Holly was okay, I wouldn’t worry about the details.
I watched as she blushed all over again. “I did trip. I wasn’t necessarily drunk. I tripped over your dog.”
“Gabe had Evie at the lodge?”
Holly shook her head. “No. I was here.”
Nodding, I was beginning to understand a bit more. “You were here?” I prompted.
She sighed. “I was here. We had dinner at the lodge, then we came back here. One thing led to another, and when I got up to get a drink of water, I tripped over Evie and broke my ankle. Gabe felt terrible about it, even though it wasn’t his fault. It was my own clumsiness that did it.”
“Have you been here the whole two weeks?” I asked.
“Yes. He did take me into town to get some things, but said he didn’t want to leave me alone. I tried to tell him it wasn’t that serious and I was perfectly capable of managing on my own, but the man in stubborn. He takes me up to the lodge so I can use their wi-fi to check email and make phone calls. The man has to get me some kind of internet. I cannot live here if I can’t even make a damn phone call,” she muttered.
“Jake is going to be getting satellite. Maybe Gabe can as well.”
“He’s looking into it.”
“Soooo,” I dragged out the word. “What are you going to wear?”
“I picked out three dresses. You have to help me decide which one to wear.”
I clapped my hands. “Yes! Where are they?”
“I’ll get them,” she said moving her foot off the pillow.
“No, I can do it. Rest.”
“I’m really okay. The doctor said I could do some walking. I need to move, or I am going to have bed sores on my ass,” she complained.
“Fine, but if Gabe comes in and sees you off that couch, I’m telling him I told you not to.”
She hobbled into Gabe’s room and returned with a bag draped over her arm. “Be honest,” she said, unzipping the bag and pulling out the dresses.
“That one,” I said, without hesitation.
“You think?”
I nodded. “Absolutely. It’s gorgeous. It suits you. The length will cover your cast.”
She smiled and looked at the light blue sundress. “It was my first choice, too.”
“Has Gabe seen it?”
“No. I told you he is very traditional. He didn’t want to see it before tomorrow.”
I smiled. “That is beautiful. I love that he is old-fashioned.”
“It really is.”
“I know he was married before,” she said quietly.
I breathed a sigh of relief. I had hoped she knew, but I certainly didn’t want to bring out that skeleton since it wasn’t my closet. “I’m glad he told you.”
“I’m happy, Calla. Truly happy.”
“And I am so happy for you. Now, tell me the rest of the details. Is there anything else I can help with?” I volunteered.
She shook her head. “Nope. It’s going to be really simple. I’ll have a small bouquet of wildflowers. We are going to do it right out front in the front yard, which happens to be a beautiful forest. There aren’t going to be any chairs, so you’ll have to stand. There’s not going to be any music. Nothing.”
I could see her vision. “It sounds absolutely perfect, in fact, I’m a little jealous. I can’t wait to see it.”
“Will you take a picture for me though?” she asked.
I laughed. “Of course I will. You have to have a picture!”
“Should I leave my hair down or put it up?”
I looked at her dress and then back at her. “Down, but you know what would be really pretty?”
“What?”
“A crown of flowers. You will look like the perfect woodland nymph.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“You ready to go home?” Jake’s voice boomed through the door.
“Stay out!” I shrieked, grabbing the dress and stashing it back inside the garment bag.
The men stayed outside.
“It’s clear,” I said, when the dress was safely tucked away.
Jake came inside and gave Holly a hug. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you. I hope we’re not stealing your thunder, but to be fair, we didn’t know we were,” she chided Jake.
“Sorry, I told Calla we should wait, but she insisted.”
I gasped. “Jake! You liar! I can’t believe you just threw me under the bus like that!”
He chuckled and wrapped his arms around me. “Can we please go home now?”
“Absolutely. Turns out we have a busy day tomorrow.”
“Good night you two,” I winked at Holly.
We walked out of the cabin, our two dogs already at the truck waiting for us. They seemed just as anxious to get home as we were. I think all of us were looking forward to sleeping in our own beds.
“Stop,” he said, before opening the door to the cabin.
“What’s wrong?”
“I want to carry you over the threshold,” he said, with a grin.
“Jake, you already carried me over one threshold.”
“That didn’t count. This does,” he said, bending down and picking me up.
I screeched before wrapping my arms around his neck and holding on. Once inside, he put me down and kissed me.
Chapter Eight
Jake
It still seemed unreal. My mind whirred as I thought back to that fateful day Calla had gotten herself lost in the forest. Gabe and I had no idea our lives would change so dramatically because of one woman’s misfortune. I knew I’d been happy as hell to have her walk into my life that night, but now I knew that Gabe was every bit as happy about it as I was.
I was standing next to Gabe under the shade of a beautiful tree wearing my Sunday finest, which was nothing more than a pair of jeans without holes, paired with a nice white button-down shirt. For this particular wedding, it was the perfect attire. It was very country and very laid-back; perfected suited to the groom, and me.
I looked at my only male friend in the world and grinned.
“You look like you’re waiting to meet Mickey Mouse for the first time,” I quipped.
“Shut up,” he shot back.
Calla gave me a look. I zipped my lip, and instead of harassing Gabe, I chose to look at her and bask in her beauty. She had a single white daisy-looking flower tucked behind her ear. The white flower stood out against her auburn hair. Her skin was sun-kissed from our time on the beach and she looked absolutely radiant in the dark blue sundress she was wearing. She was a vision of love.
“I love you,” I whispered across our makeshift aisle.
“You two are going to make me vomit,” Gabe’s pal, John, spat.
“Aren’t you a minister?” I snapped. “Aren’t you supposed to be happy to marry people?”
He leveled a glare at me. “I don’t marry people. I agreed to do my friend a favor, and he knows damn well I don’t like doing this shit. And I don’t preach on Sundays, by the way. I was an Army chaplain.”
My mouth dropped open at his use of language. “Damn, Gabe, no wonder you’re so fucked up if this is your preacher.”
Gabe chuckled. “He isn’t my preacher. He was the only one I knew that could do this on short notice.”
“Be nice, you two,” Calla lectured. “She’s coming. If you ruin this for her, I will personally kick each and every one of your sorry asses. Got it?”
“That’s my girl,” I said proudly, giving old cranky-pants a look that basically said I won.
I turned to watch as the woman I had always thought of as potentially insane and absolutely neurotic, gracefully floated towards us. Well, floated wasn’t exactly the word, but the look on her face made one think she thought she was floating, when in reality it was a bit of a stumbling journey towards the man she would marry.
“She looks beautiful,” I whispered so only Gabe could hear me. “You’re a lucky man.”
“I know,” he choked out.
Turning to look at my crotchety old friend, I was surprised to see tears in his eyes. Seeing his emotions so clearly made me realize how much he truly loved her and it was a beautiful sight. Love was a powerful thing. I had learned first land it could drop a strong man to his knees. Love could also heal old wounds, like Gabe’s.
I was so happy Gabe had found someone. I’d been worried that my own happiness with Calla would cause Gabe to stay away. I’d even felt a little guilty about it and I didn’t want to lose him as a friend.
But now I looked at Calla who was absolutely beaming as she watched her friend. I was a little sad I didn’t get to experience the same moment watching Calla walk down the aisle, even if we were only standing in Gabe’s front yard.
“Hi,” Holly said, nervousness in her voice as she came to stand beside Gabe.
“Hi,” Gabe responded. “You’re beautiful,” he told her, before taking her hand and facing the pseudo-preacher.
The old Army chaplain jumped right in. The ceremony was short, which made me very happy. I wasn’t one for sappy vows.
Before I knew it though, it was over, and Gabe was kissing Holly.
“Congratulations!” Calla called out.
I clapped Gabe on the shoulder. “You did it! I can’t believe you did it. Is it legal? Is that guy even allowed to marry you?”
“Yes, this guy can marry him,” the chaplain retorted.
“Good. Then it’s official. Will you be joining us for a drink?” I asked the man.
He gave me a look. “No.”
“You cuss but you don’t drink?”
“I drink just fine, but I have a wife waiting for me up at that fancy lodge. We have plans and they don’t include me sitting down here with you fools.”
“Thanks for coming, John. I really appreciate you doing this for us,” Gabe told his friend.
“You’re paying for our stay. Let me know if you want me to come up and bless you or some other shit sometime. I like it up here and I’d be more than happy to visit on your dime.”
“Why don’t you bring your wife down here,” Holly suggested. “I’d love to meet her. Please?”
Gabe nodded his head. “Good idea. Come on, you two can have one drink and then you can run back to the lodge.”
“Alright. I’ll go up and grab her. One drink and then I’m taking her back to that room. We’ve got six kids and don’t get many chances to be alone.”
“Six kids?” Calla asked, horrified. “You poor man. Bring your wife. I’m sure she’ll love us. We’ll all be on our best behavior, we promise!” she said, while looking directly at me.
“What? I’m good. I was just giving him shit earlier.”
“See you in a few, John. I need to get my wife off her foot, if you’ll excuse me,” Gabe said, before lovingly taking Holly’s hand and leading her inside.
Calla and I stayed outside, pulling some chairs around the fire pit Gabe and I had dug last year. Usually, it was just him and I sitting around the fire, drinking and bullshitting. Now, I could see all four of us sitting out here on a cool fall night, enjoying the stars while keeping warm by the fire.
Life had a funny way of working itself out when you least expected it.
“What are you thinking?” Calla asked, wrapping her arms around my waist.
“I was thinking how much things have changed in the past six months. I can’t believe fate would finally give us all a break and quit being so damn mean.”
She giggled. “You can’t really appreciate the good things in life if you haven’t been through some rotten things to compare it too, though. I’m happy. I’m even happier than Holly’s happy. I have to admit I felt guilty for abandoning her and coming up here to live with you.”
I smiled, “Funny thing is I was thinking the same thing about Gabe. I am very happy to have you, but I was feeling a little bad for him. Now, we can both be completely, madly in love and not feel an ounce of guilt.”
She kissed me before patting my butt. “I’m going to go help Holly get some drinks ready. We put together a few snacks as well. It isn’t exactly a reception, but I think a few drinks with some salty snacks will be just perfect. You get that campfire started before it gets chilly,” she ordered.
I stacked some wood and gathered dry pine needles, but waited to start the fire. It was still warm outside. Calla appeared on the porch, juggling a tray and some bags.
“Hold on,” I said, quickly rushing to her aid. “What’s all this?” I asked, peeking inside the bags.
“Party snacks.”
I laugh
ed. “I don’t think I’ve been to a party in a decade.”
Gabe emerged with Holly on his arm. “Bullshit. I know you and your Army pals sat around drinking plenty of nights.”
I shrugged a shoulder. “That’s true, but I don’t think I ever considered it a party.”
John and his wife Donna appeared, and after the introductions, we all gathered around the firepit. Calla was playing hostess, serving up drinks and offering various snacks.
Holly and Gabe seemed to be lost in their own little world. I didn’t think they had let go of one another since they had said, ‘I do’. It was a side of Gabe I had never imagined I would see. I liked the softer side and felt a little twinge of sadness over the grief that had kept that side hidden away for so many years. Gabe was a kind and loving man under all the gruffness.
We laughed and laughed as we shared drinks and snacks celebrating the wedding none of us could have predicted.
“You going to light that fire or we going to stare at a pile of wood all night?” Gabe groused.
I laughed. “Are you chilly? That woman draped over you should be enough to keep you warm.”
“Well, I’m chilly, and I’m sure Holly and Donna are too,” Calla chimed in.
“Okay, I get the hint,” I said, as I got down and lit the fire. Each of us settled back into our chairs and stared at the flames. Fire always had a way of quieting a rambunctious group, even if we weren’t exactly howling at the moon.
“I think we’re going to head out,” John said, he and his wife standing. “We want to take advantage of that big-ass tub in our room.”
“Thanks for everything and let me know when you want to get away again. I’ve got an in up at the lodge and can hook you guys up with a room,” Gabe said, shaking his friend’s hand.
We all said our goodbyes and then it was just the four of us.
Holly yawned. “Did you get any writing done?” she asked Calla.
I smirked, thinking about the research we did for her writing.
Calla grinned, “I did get a couple chapters written on the flight back. I have lots of material to work with. I think Janice, my editor,” she clarified for Gabe and I, “will be very happy. She said to turn up the heat and I most definitely did.”
Holly giggled. “You’re going to spawn a population boom with your books.”